24 December 2023 , 07:00
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Boxing Day has become one of the biggest shopping days of the year - but some stores will be keeping their doors closed.
High street stores are open pretty much open for the majority of the year only shutting on the occasional days. One of these is Christmas Day. By law, under the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004, practically all stores across different sectors of retail must close their doors on the big day. However, this does not include smaller stores which are allowed to open - although the majority do choose to close.
Stores are allowed to reopen again on Boxing Day. The day after Christmas is considered one of the most popular days to shop in the year as retailers slash prices to get rid of stock which they did not manage to sell in the lead up to the big day.
Over the last 25 years, this has been the norm however some retailers have decided to keep their doors closed on Boxing Day to give their workers a well-deserved break over the festive season.
The German discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl have closed on both Christmas and Boxing Day over the last few years and this year is no different.
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Earlier this year, Aldi's communications director Richard Thorton said the supermarket recognised that Christmas was an "important time" for many of its staff and keeping their stores closed on Boxing Day allowed them to spend more time with family. The majority of Lidl stores will be shut however a few select stores will open - although the supermarket chain has not confirmed which stores these are.
Fellow supermarket chain Iceland and its Food Warehouse stores will also be closing on Boxing Day. The frozen food retailer also shut its doors last year noting that the move was to allow their hard-working staff more time off to spend with family and friends. Upmarket supermarkets Marks and Spencer and Waitrose as well as retailer John Lewis will also be following suit with stores reopening a day later on December 27.
Home Bargains is another high street chain shutting shop for two days over Christmas. In a post shared on X (Twitter) earlier this year, Home Bargains said: "CHRISTMAS ANNOUNCEMENT - All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day & New Year's Day. We would like to thank all our staff for how hard you have worked this past year, and want you to relax and enjoy the Christmas break with your loved ones. Love from team HB"
The company also later confirmed that all Home Bargains stores will close at the earlier time of 5pm on Christmas Eve. In a statement released by the company, it said it "was only right to support our valued store teams by giving them extended time off around Christmas and New Year".
Poundland is another discount store which closes all of its stores on Boxing Day. This is the fourth consecutive year the retailer has given staff extra time off. On the move, Simon Wells, people director at Poundland said the retailer "appreciated" the hard work of their staff and closing on these additional days over Christmas was its way of saying thank you. He added: "Their efforts are appreciated and we hope they enjoy a well-earned break with family and friends over the festive period.”
The Range and Wilko owner CDS Superstores has recently announced it is to shut more than 200 stores on Boxing Day. However, the shops will be open for extended hours in the run up to Christmas.
High street retailers not opening on Boxing Day
- Aldi
- Lidl
- Home Bargains
- Poundland
- Iceland
- Food Warehouse
- Waitrose
- John Lewis
- Marks and Spencer
- The Range
- Wilko